Smash repairs - the Ward way

Shop profile

Smash repairs the Ward way

Like the man says, there are as many different ways of running a panel shop as they are people who run them. This is certainly true of Marrickville repairer P.J.Ward Smash Repairs, which now takes up a sizeable chunk of Smith Street.
Mr Ward has long since gone but brothers Michael, Bill and Tom Antoniou kept his log standing and trusted name when they bought the company in 1990. It was on the opposite side of Smith Street and in small premises. They yearned for room to move and when the buildings making 31 to 45 came up for sale they bought them and moved in 1997. There was a labyrinth of offices, big open fronted sheds and spacious factory areas in which they planned a work flow that didn't double back on itself.
While you wouldn't call Ward a pretty or sophisticated shop, it would show most shops a clean pair of heels when it comes to throughput and profitability. The business is all about getting on with the job and not pausing to worry about appearances ? except for the jobs in hand.
Each of the major departments has a foreman. Two ovens are kept busy with seven painters and panel beating and alignment also have seven. There is an in-house mechanic for mechanical R&R, three apprentices and office staff. Some plastic repairs are done in-house.
The equipment includes several Autorobot benches (one especially suited to four wheel drives), Spies Hecker paint and Galaxy booths. The office has just installed a FlexiQuote Quoting System and praises its simple operation and excellent back-up support.
The shop is one of the busiest in Sydney. On a good week it will turn out more than 60 jobs, but only a small number are generated by insurance work providers. That is why Ward has been able to concentrate on production rather than appearance. The vast majority of its jobs come from fleet contracts where there seems to be better cooperation between repairer and insurer than there is in single policyholder work. It is business to business, and only attracts the intervention of an assessor where there is an unusual repair issue to be discussed.
Virtually the only retail business comes from GIO ? where seven day completion can be a challenge unless the car is towed to the shop; then the repair time is more relaxed.
The Antoniou brothers put their success down to the simple practice of being up front with their customers ? and their staff.